Michael Jordan makes more in retirement than most athletes do at top of game

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It’s still really good to be “like Mike.”

Basketball great Michael Jordan makes more money in retirement than most professional athletes do when they’re at the top of their game.

New court documents provide a detailed look at just how much the basketball superstar earns from endorsements long after his playing career has ended.

They were released as part of a suit Jordan has brought against Safeway, which alleges that one of its former grocery stores, Dominick’s Finer Foods, used his likeness without permission. Jordan, 52, is seeking over $10 million from the now defunct company, and the details about his existing endorsements were revealed to support the claim that his image is in fact that valuable.

The specifics of Jordan’s sponsorship deals clearly demonstrate just how valuable Jordan’s image is, according to sports marketing expert Bob Dorfman.

Some companies behind these endorsements fought to keep the details of their agreements private, but federal judge John Blakey ruled that the information had to be disclosed to the public in an order signed Thursday.

Jordan’s most lucrative deal is with Nike, which has paid out over $473 million dollars over the course of the contract, which he’s had since 1993. A 1991 deal with Gatorade that’s still in effect today is valued at $18 million and a deal he’s had with Hanes since 1992 has netted him over $14 million. The sports memorabilia outfit Upper Deck paid Jordan over $13 million from 2000-2014, while video game outfit 2K Sports has had two separate contracts with the superstar for a total of roughly $2.5 million.

Hanes confirmed how much Jordan’s contract is worth, but refused to comment further.

Gatorade told CNNMoney that the company does “not comment on pending legal matters.” Nike, Upper Deck and 2K Sports did not respond to requests for comment.

Jordan, who retired for the second time in 2003, took the notion of athletic sponsorships to an entirely different level, making himself one of the biggest name brands in sports history.

“He’s an example for other athletes who are focused on creating their personal ‘brand,'” Dorfman said.

This sentiment was echoed by Marc Ganis, president of SportsCorp.

“Jordan is very strategic about the deals he makes,” Ganis said. “His image is guarded zealously and he only makes long-term deals for big money that convey a positive image of the Michael Jordan brand.”

Ganis praised Jordan’s savvy ability to cultivate his image and extend his worth long after his career, likening it to that of Arnold Palmer.

“His brand will probably continue to be valuable even when he’s no longer alive.”

John McHenry: McIlroy, Spieth fill the void as Tiger’s star on the wane

Great athletes are a curious breed. For those who don’t know them in many circumstances, they appear single-minded, aloof and even obnoxious.

The world of professional golf is no different. Names like Faldo, Montgomerie and Woods are as famous for their brash demeanour as they are for their great golfing skills.

Their skills have earned them wealth beyond belief but more and more in today’s world of intrusion, especially with social media we want more. We want them to be nice people too, people who conform to our everyday standards. Sometimes, that is just not possible.

The revelation of Tiger Woods’ off-the-course activities is a case in point, but does that make his golfing achievements any less impressive?

After all, he was feted as a genius in 2008 when he won his last major championship, long before his spectacular fall from grace, so why should his achievements be viewed any differently now? Sure he lived a strange life but many of the greatest sportmen that I have ever met are weird. They are not my cup of tea but that doesn’t stop me marvelling at their achievements.

This past week, I have been reading and listening with fascination to the shenanegans with the GAA and how a Tyrone player’s actions have supposedly brought the organisation into disrepute. What a load of rubbish. Sportsmen and women in every code will take every opportunity to get one up on their opponent.

Great athletes and great teams will always find a way to win. Sure it might be unconventional, but every new achievement or record is also unconventional because it has never been done before.

Just look at how much Jack Nicklaus was hated early in his career when he threatened the dominance of Arnold Palmer. Times change and the emergence of new talent or new ideas are often unpopular but most often change brings about a higher standard from those who have learned best and who have the bravery to push on regardless of opinion.

Great coaches, great teams and great players find a way to succeed. They are not bound by the limitations of the majority, they are the dreamers (AP McCoy, Schumacher, Messi, Bolt, Nicklaus) who have no boundaries. Driven and determined their minds can only cope with success.

Failure is not an option, yet they inherently understand that sporting records come and go and all they want is to be major contributors to their time.

More and more it seems today as if Woods’ days of being a perennial winner of tournaments and major championships are over. In his prime, I have never come across a more complete competitor. Much like Michael Jordan before him, he dominated and retired many greats around him and his longevity, skill and tenacity mark him as one of the greatest sporstman of all time.

Yes, his off-course actions tarnished the integrity of the game of golf but it is sad to see that the greatest impact of his actions have been to himself and I hope he soon finds the motivation he now needs to move forward again.

Like any dominant force, from Jordan to Woods, people get bored of greatness. They want a fresh face and how lucky golf is at the moment to have McIlroy and Spieth Spieth’s performance yesterday was hugely impressive in that he buried emphatically any “intimidation factor” he may have felt playing with McIlroy.

This was a big moment in the tournament because McIlroy’s rustiness hurt while Spieth’s innate confidence shone for all to see. Like all great champions he has found a way to get into the tournament and at five under par he has now laid down a marker to the rest of the field that he will be a factor over the coming days.

Dustin Johnson and others of course will want to have their own say and so too will McIlroy but once again Rory’s second successive 71 risks him falling too far behind a pack that will not come back to him.

Once again it has been emphatically proven that their is no substitute for competition. No matter how hard Rory may have tried during his enforced lay-off you can not simulate competition 100% in training, so missing vital tournament time at this time of the year has been very costly. That said, McIlroy is game and every day he will get stronger.

Spieth on the other hand has his eyes now firmly set just on yet another major championship. Achieving that remarkable outcome will not come easily on a course waiting to punish errant golf shots but champions are made of much sterner stuff. They find a way and just like yesterday’s round it seems that Spieth is mounting an irresistible charge

Bobby Long: The Wyndham's, and Triad's, gem of a gentleman

There was a story going around Augusta National in April about a man in a green jacket, which was ironic because during the Masters, there are any number of people walking around in green jackets.

The story goes something like this:

A young boy and his dad were visiting the course on one of the practice days early in the week when the boy sustained a serious cut and needed immediate attention. A doctor was on hand, but he needed help. He needed first-aid supplies. He needed someone, anyone, in that huge gallery to go get help.

From out of the crowd walked the man in the green jacket, confident and cool, a striking man with a glint in his eye and an assured demeanor that everything would be all right.

“You just wait here,” he said to the group on the ground where the boy was bleeding and scared. “I’ll be right back.”

In a short time, the man returned carrying an armload of first-aid equipment. Right there on the golf course, the doctor mended his patient, wiped the tears from the boy’s eyes and sent them on their way. No one knew the doctor’s name. But the man in the green jacket was a familiar face.

He was from Greensboro.

His name was Bobby Long.

We were done

Few of us really know Bobby Long. We know he’s the chairman of the influential Piedmont Triad Charitable Foundation’s board of governors, a group that only sounds like a bunch of stuffed shirts and self-important men. And were it not for Long, the board might very well be just that.

But that’s not how he does business.

“Bobby Long is the most humble person I know,” says Mark Brazil, the tournament director of the Wyndham Championship being played this week at Sedgefield Country Club. “He’s real, and he saved this golf tournament.”

In the eyes of many, Long is the Wyndham Championship. He deflects such talk and credits people around him, but the truth is, were it not for Bobby Long of Greensboro, there would be no Wyndham Championship this week or any week.

It’s a familiar story by now. We’d lost the tournament in the eyes of the PGA Tour. The local Jaycees had done all they could to keep the tournament solvent, but when Chrysler pulled out as the sponsor in 2006, its run had ended.

PGA schedule plans leaked out for 2007, and they did not include Greensboro. After 68 years since Sam Snead won the first Greater Greensboro Open, we were done. Our run had ended, too.

This was about home

Long, 59, was a recently retired insurance executive at the time, a businessman with money, clout and time on his hands. He also had a plan to save the GGO. His plan wasn’t just about golf.

Like many in the Triad business community, he’d watched several big companies leave the area, watched as entire industries left, taking jobs and part of Greensboro’s soul with them. Losing the golf tournament, our signature event since 1938, seemed somehow fitting. And symbolic.

“We’d lost our swagger,” Long says.

It sounds simple, but that was the driving influence for Long. We needed to get our swagger back.

Long was just the man for that. A guy’s guy, he had friends who would follow him wherever he led. Whether it be a fishing trip to New Zealand or a fundraising drive to develop a law school at Elon University, he had that certain charm and assurance that he knew exactly what he was doing.

“He’s the kind of man who gets people’s attention,” says Steve Holmes, Wyndham Worldwide chairman and chief executive officer. “When he has an idea, people listen.”

Long had more in mind than fishing and golf. He was, and is, a businessman at heart. And this was about home.

“This was about much more than a golf tournament,” he says. “This was about bringing us together again as a city and a region.”

Better because of Long

When the tournament announced a 10-year extension with Wyndham and BB&T and the PGA Tour this year, tour commissioner Tim Finchem came to Greensboro. He came because this tournament has become a model for how tournaments should be run. He came because 10-year extensions in today’s economy are rare. And he came because he wanted to shake hands with Long.

“This is a signal event,” Finchem says. "This tournament gets better every year, and it's because of Bobby Long and his people. This city is so fortunate to have someone like Bobby. He’s the real deal.”

And not just for this tournament and this region but for tournaments across the state. When the tournament in Charlotte announced a few years ago that it would bring the 2017 PGA Championship to Quail Hollow, the club there needed help. They needed somewhere to move the Wells Fargo Championship for one year to keep its own sponsorship, to keep its own spot on the Tour schedule and to maintain its presence as one of the most respected tour stops in golf.

Again, it was Long who stepped forward.

Long arranged for the Charlotte folks to meet with club members at Eagle Point Golf Club in Wilmington, where he is president. A handshake sealed a deal.

It wasn’t about territory. It wasn’t about Greensboro vs. Charlotte. It was about doing the right thing.

“Bobby is a good friend to so many people for so many reasons,” Finchem says. “He’s so important to this region and is important to some things we’re doing on the PGA Tour. He’s a good friend to us in many ways.”

Bringing it back

In this day and age, a handshake is hardly a binding agreement. But for Long, it’s a bond. He’s an old-school guy, his friends say. But he’s very quiet and unassuming in his business dealings and his friendships.

Holmes, the Wyndham CEO, says from the moment he met Long they became friends, not just partners.

“We saw things the same way, and that’s rare," Holmes says. “I felt like this was something that was going to work, not just for us and for this tournament but for the Triad, for the business community of this region and for the people here. Bobby is a wonderful ambassador for Greensboro and for the people in the Piedmont Triad.

“You have a gem here, and his name is Bobby Long.”

Brazil, the tournament director, is careful not to say too much about his friend and his associate. Long is very protective of his private life, and he’s far too humble to take credit for all that’s happened here since he and his partners set out to save the golf tournament.

“He talks about partnerships and trusts, and that’s what drives everything he does," Brazil says. “When you’re dealing with people, whether it be business or just in building relationships, you don’t hold anything back. You put your cards on the table and look people in the eye. I feel like I have an MBA from Harvard just from hanging around Bobby. His deals usually end with a handshake. In this day and age, that’s almost unheard of.”

Long has more plans for the tournament and more plans for the area. He’ll keep those to himself for now, but his ideas tend to get noticed. He and his wife, Kathryn, are active philanthropists in areas we don’t always hear about – scholarships and trusts, civic affairs from our ballpark to the performing arts center.

Where we go from here is anyone’s guess, but Long says it won’t just be about golf.

“We’ll never rest on our laurels,” he says. “No matter how far we’ve come, we’re going to keep going at that pace. We aren’t going to level out. Working with these people, and the way we work, makes me feel good. It makes me feel good about the world.

“The reason I got into this to begin with is because our spirit was down. We’d lost a lot of companies, and growing up here I saw this an as an iconic event, and I didn’t want to lose this tournament too. Regionalism, from a business standpoint, was the only way to propel this thing, raise our spirits and do some economic development as well.”

The tournament has brought back this city’s can-do attitude. There was a time when we stopped doing big things. There was a time when we lost our way, and the dying days of the old GGO was a symbol of that.

Long became a symbol of how we used to get things done here and how we can do those things again. There’s an old-school charm about him that reminds us of the way we were. They weren’t days of smoke-filled back-room decisions, but handshakes among gentlemen.

“We wanted to bring that back,” he says. “We wanted it spread to other areas. We’re not going to stop, either. We’re working on a couple of things now that are monstrously transformational for this region, and it’s all come out of this tournament.”

Bobby Long will be wearing a blue blazer this week, comfortable among his own people, confident in his style and in his stature. In that sense, he’s more than just one of us. He is us.

Unity considers regulations on drones near Palmer airport

Unity officials appear to be leading the way in Western Pennsylvania as they attempt to regulate the use of drones near airports.

Preliminary discussions indicate an ordinance would limit the height and proximity that operators can fly the unmanned aircraft near Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in the township.

The regulation was considered because of concerns raised by Gabe Monzo, executive director of Westmoreland County Airport Authority, officials said.

“I think it should be a concern for anyone near an airport, if you have drones flying around,” Monzo said.

The aircraft can range in size and shape. They often use rotor-type propellers and can hover at various heights.

Pilot sightings of drones near airports jumped from 238 in 2014 to 650 as of Aug. 9 this year, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Pilots on four planes reported drone sightings as they approached Newark Liberty International Airport on Sunday. Recently, the FAA has received reports about near-collisions at airports in New York, Minneapolis and Austin.

No sightings have been reported at the Unity airport, Monzo said.

“I think they're a very useful tool. You don't want to eliminate them altogether; you just want people to realize they're within the parameters of the airport and they have to use caution,” he said.

“Drones have not been an issue at Pittsburgh International or Allegheny County Airport,” said Robert Kerlik, spokesman for the Allegheny County Airport Authority.

The authority is not working with any municipalities on regulations, but members are keeping up with the topic of drones, he said.

The last report of an unidentified drone the authority has is from June 2014, when one flew over PNC Park during a Pirates game.

Pennsylvania requires drones to fly below 400 feet and keep a line of sight from the operator to the aircraft. The FAA requires the operator to notify either the airport operator or control tower if flying within 5 miles of an airport.

Other regulations are evolving on both the state and federal levels to accommodate users while ensuring safety, said Justin Towles, staff vice president of regulatory and legislative affairs with the American Association of Airport Executives.

Monzo recently joined a group of members discussing drone regulations with the Alexandria, Va.-based organization, hosting a November conference in Las Vegas dedicated to the topic.

“There's a lot of work that needs to happen,” Towles said. “We want to make sure the right information is getting out there and it's widespread and the users of UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) follow the rules.”

Accountability ­— linking a serial number on the drone to a registered owner, for example — and enforceability are major concerns on the federal, state, and local levels, Towles said.

In Unity, the township is considering setting a distance requirement from runways and limiting the height at which a drone is allowed to fly.

Rostraver Commissioner Pat Egros said an ordinance there could help dictate how leaders approach unmanned aircraft near Rostraver Airport.

“Their airport (in Unity) carries far more air traffic than what we do,” but the Rostraver facility will take any recommendations from the Westmoreland County Airport Authority, which oversees both airports, Egros said. “We will be looking into it in the future for safety as far as air traffic and patterns.”

In 2013, Conoy Township in Lancaster County was one of the first governing bodies in the state to pass an ordinance limiting use of drones to a resident's property. The township's 18 square miles contain 3,452 residents. It's located 6 miles from Harrisburg International Airport and south of Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station.

Conoy Supervisor Steve Mohr said the ordinance was passed after he spotted a drone hovering over a farm for sale in the area. It was being used to photograph real estate.

While Township Supervisor Steve Mohr's concerns about drones were rooted in privacy issues, he encouraged Unity officials not to wait for federal regulations to catch up.

“That ‘wait and see' doesn't work,” he said. “They need to address it pretty swiftly.”

LI club pros get their shot at glory in PGA Championship

Darrell Kestner's experience in the PGA Championship, and he has had plenty of it, tells him that his two star pupils will be just fine this week. Matt Dobyns and Ben Polland do not need to do anything extraordinary, according to the dean of Long Island club pros.

"They have to play their own game. They can't get caught up in watching the world's greatest players. Learn from them, but still, you've got to be yourself,'' said the director of golf at Deepdale Golf Club in Manhasset, who has played in 12 PGAs.

Along with having also played in eight U.S. Opens and winning all the big tournaments in the Metropolitan Section, Kestner is as renowned a teacher as he is a golfer. PGA Tour players come to him for instruction. And he has had a huge impact on people who have worked for him, particularly Polland, his current assistant, and Dobyns, a former assistant who is head pro at Fresh Meadow Country Club.

Both men will play among the sport's elite this week at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. The PGA is different from the other major championships in that it guarantees places for the top club pros, who qualify at the PGA Professional National Championship. This year, Dobyns won it and Polland was runner-up, each earning a great opportunity and an intense challenge.

Dobyns will be paired the first two rounds with PGA winner John Daly and Colin Montgomerie. Polland will be paired with Marc Leishman and Kevin Kisner.

"The worst thing you can do is go out there and practice so hard that you wear yourself out. Matt is experienced in that now,'' Kestner said, referring to the fact this will be Dobyns' third major, to Polland's first. "And we have both given that advice to Ben. They went out there for a practice round. I think they can do very well.

"It's their maturity. They've played so much golf that they can handle any kind of adverse situations. Matt and Ben handle their games nicely and don't try to do things they can't do,'' he said. "At that level, so many guys have the physical abilities. Now it's the mental ability to play major championship golf. It's up to them to not get caught up in the moment and be themselves and handle the situation as best they can.''

A close second was the 1993 event at Inverness in Toledo, Ohio, when Kestner made the first double-eagle in PGA Championship history. "And I played a practice round with Arnold Palmer,'' he said.Ten years ago, when he was 51, Kestner withstood New Jersey's withering heat and humidity and made the cut at the PGA. "That was right here in our section, so I would say that was my favorite,'' he said.

Kestner and fellow local pro Ron McDougal were teeing off on a quiet Wednesday afternoon. "All of a sudden this big crowd is forming around us and we're saying what the heck is going on? Then the crowd parts and up walks Arnold Palmer,'' he said. "He says, 'Hey boys, got room for one more?' Ronnie looks at me and whispers, 'Tell him our twosome is filled.' We started laughing and said, 'Absolutely, Mr. Palmer.' We just had the time of our lives. He said, 'Let's have a little skins game. I need a little jet fuel money.' It was a really good time.''

That is the beauty of the PGA, which Dobyns and Polland will experience this week. "The club pros,'' Kestner said, "can be playing with their idols, or future idols.''

Verdict from Rory McIlroy's practice round: So far, good to go

It is hard to believe the Rory McIlory we saw in Twitter and Instagram posts this week was the same player practicing Saturday at Whistling Straits, site of next week's PGA Championship.

As McIlroy recovered from an ankle injury, we saw video of his swing. It looked flawless, but the injury was to his left foot — which he never raises off the ground.

The biggest question was not about McIlroy's ability to swing, but rather how he could walk the hilly and elevated Whistling Straits course. With its Irish links style, the tract outside Sheboygan, Wis., requires players to march more than five miles each round.

McIlroy is due to begin play on Thursday, and Saturday's round was his first attempt at playing on the sore ankle. If McIlroy makes cut, he would go more than 20 miles in four days — not counting practice rounds.

He looked perfect on the range on Saturday, hitting full shots with no sign of favoring his left ankle. Then he went to the course.

And that was where any doubt he is back was eliminated.

McIlroy walked with speed, a bounce in his step, jumping at times to limber up. On one steeply elevated tee box he jogged up the hill. His entourage walked slowly behind him.

Carts are not allowed at Whistling Straits except for late evening play, but McIlroy's team rode in a large, limousine-like rig. It wasn't needed for McIlroy; it was more so his entourage could keep up.

This puts a new light on the PGA Championship, the golf season's last major. Jordan Spieth will enter as favorite, but now with the defending champion and No. 1 player likely in the field, it might come down to McIlroy and Spieth on the finishing holes.

Spieth made it clear he wants to be No. 1 when he leaves the WGC-Bridgestone. Chances are good he will be. How long he retains that ranking will be the topic of conversation at the PGA Championship.

McIlroy enjoys being No. 1 as much as Spieth wants to replace him in that position.

Everyone has tried to make McIlroy vs. Spieth a rivalry. Fans would love it. Golf history is full of such personal competitions, the most famous being Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.

It's too early to put McIlroy and Spieth in that realm, but entering the PGA Championship and at least two days of head-to-head play, it might reach that level. Golf will be better for it.

The Grand Slam bid is done; Jordan Spieth is not

Jordan Spieth was on the 14th green and battling in conditions so severe the wind approached 40 mph.

"They pulled us off the course," he said.

Spieth wasn't talking about St. Andrews.

This was Sunday at Whistling Straits, where he took a two-day scouting trip of the course that will host the final major of the year.

Spieth was one shot away from making the PGA Championship the most significant golf event since Tiger Woods completed his sweep of the majors in 2001 at the Masters. The 22-year-old Texan was trying to become the first player to win them all in one season, and he came closer than any of the other three greats — Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Woods — to getting the third leg of the Grand Slam at the British Open.

His three-putt on the 14th green at St. Andrews, when the second round resumed in wind so strong Spieth was heard to say, "We never should have started," is not what cost him a chance at the claret jug. He had four other three-putts that round. He took four putts on the eighth green in the final round. He also made a bunch of birdies all week, and at the end of 72 holes, he needed one more. Simple as that.

If there was a hangover, it didn't last long.

Spieth was playing golf in Dallas with friends when his roommate mentioned the "weirdest feeling" about watching the Open. He told him that it seemed as though Spieth had an off week at St. Andrews, perhaps because he already had won the Masters and U.S. Open. Maybe it was ingrained in everyone, Spieth included, that anything but a victory at the British Open was not going to be acceptable.

"We played good golf given everything," Spieth said. "It's still good to play a major and lose by one shot. But that was one shot from being the greatest week of my life, instead of being on the back burner. That's what put it in perspective for me."

It was a memorable run, and now it's time to move on.

Spieth already has shown at such a young age he is equipped to do just that.

His goal at St. Andrews was to ignore what was at stake and treat it like another major. Put the ball in play. Make putts. Get in contention. He said when it was over the historical significance never crossed his mind even when he was tied for the lead with two holes to play.

His approach to Whistling Straits isn't much different.

"I really don't think it changes at all," Spieth said. "Like I said, the historical part never factored into my preparation or knowledge of the course or whatever. All in all, I have the exact same feeling. I may feel better. I knew what was at stake, and there was an added element to that off the course. Those were the questions everyone was asking. That's what the crowd was saying as you go hole to hole in the practice round. 'The Grand Slam is alive.'

"I wish they were still saying that," he said. "But since they aren't, that might ease the burden as far as practice."

He laughed when asked about the American Slam — winning the three U.S. majors in the same season.

"When did that start?" he said, already knowing the answer.

No one ever talked about an American Slam until it was served up as a consolation prize to Woods when his shot at the Grand Slam ended in the wind and rain at Muirfield in 2002. Woods made a strong run at the PGA Championship that year by making birdie on his last four holes, only to finish one shot behind Rich Beem.

Now the opportunity falls to Spieth. It's still a chance to achieve something no one has ever done, though it feels hollow compared with what he was chasing a month ago at the home of golf.

The Grand Slam is over. His season is not.

Spieth knows what it's like to adjust goals during the course of the season, just as he did as a rookie in 2013 when he started the year without a PGA Tour and finished it as the youngest American (20) to play in the Presidents Cup.

Looking back, he set modest expectations for 2015.

"My goals for this year were to make the Presidents Cup team, contend in at least one major and make the cut in all the majors," he said. "In 2013, they were tangible, specific goals I could shoot for. Right now, what's bigger than what we've done? We had a chance to do something no one has done — win all four majors in a year."

Part of the challenge is to finish strong. That's what Spieth failed to do last season, when he finished out of the top 20 in six of his final seven events on the PGA Tour. In his eyes, a new season starts this week at Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio, followed by the PGA Championship and then four FedEx Cup playoff events.

"I would like to win one of these last six events," he said. "I'd like to be in contention and close one of them out, stay focused on trying to win one of these six and forget about how this year has gone. This is so new for us. It's hard as a team for us to sit back and not want to soak in what's happened."

A lot has happened. And even in the final two months, there's a lot left.

Arnold Palmer

For the PGA Tour golf tournament, see Arnold Palmer Invitational. For the drink, see Arnold Palmer (drink).

Arnold Palmer
— Golfer —
Palmer in 1953
Personal information
Full name	Arnold Daniel Palmer
Nickname	The King
Born	September 10, 1929 (age 85) Latrobe, Pennsylvania
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg)
Nationality	United States
Residence	Latrobe, Pennsylvania Orlando, Florida
Spouse	Winifred Walzer Palmer (1934–99) (m. 1954–99, her death) Kathleen Gawthrop (m. 2005)
Career
College	Wake Forest College
Turned professional	1954
Retired	2006
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour Champions Tour
Professional wins	95
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	62 (5th all time)
European Tour	2
PGA Tour of Australasia	2
Champions Tour	10
Best results in major championships (Wins: 7)
Masters Tournament	Won: 1958, 1960, 1962,1964
U.S. Open	Won: 1960
The Open Championship	Won: 1961, 1962
PGA Championship	T2: 1964, 1968, 1970
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame	1974 (member page)
PGA Tour leading money winner	1958, 1960, 1962, 1963
PGA Player of the Year	1960, 1962
Vardon Trophy	1961, 1962, 1964, 1967
Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year	1960
Bob Jones Award	1971
Old Tom Morris Award	1983
PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award	1998
Payne Stewart Award	2000
Presidential Medal of Freedom	2004
Congressional Gold Medal	2009

Twenty-three-year-old Arnold Palmer in the United States Coast Guard in 1953

Arnold Daniel Palmer (born September 10, 1929) is a retired American professional golfer, who is generally regarded as one of the greatest players in men's professional golf history. He has won numerous events on both the PGA Tour andChampions Tour, dating back to 1955. Nicknamed "The King", he is one of golf's most popular stars and its most important trailblazer, because he was the first superstar of the sport's television age, which began in the 1950s. Palmer's social impact on behalf of golf was perhaps unrivaled among fellow professionals; Palmer's humble background and plain-spoken popularity helped change the perception of golf as an elite, upper-class pastime to a more democratic sport accessible to middle and working classes.^[1] Palmer is part of "The Big Three" in golf during the 1960s, along with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, who are widely credited with popularizing and commercializing the sport around the world.

Palmer won the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998, and in 1974 was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Contents

• 1 Career outline
  • 1.1 Early life
  • 1.2 Rise to superstardom
  • 1.3 Golf businesses
• 2 Legacy
• 3 Personal life
• 4 Amateur wins (26)
  • 4.1 Amateur major wins (1)
  • 4.2 Results timeline
• 5 Professional wins (95)
  • 5.1 PGA Tour wins (62)
  • 5.2 Other wins (18)
  • 5.3 Senior PGA Tour wins (10)
  • 5.4 Other senior wins (5)
• 6 Major championships
  • 6.1 Wins (7)
  • 6.2 Results timeline
  • 6.3 Summary
• 7 Champions Tour major championships
  • 7.1 Wins (5)
• 8 U.S. national team appearances
• 9 See also
• 10 References
• 11 External links

Career outline[edit]

Early life[edit]

Palmer was born in the Pittsburgh suburb of Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He learned golf from his father, Milfred (Deacon) Palmer who had suffered from polio at a young age and was head professional and greenskeeper at Latrobe Country Club, allowing young Arnold to accompany his father as he maintained the course.^[2] He attended Wake Forest College on a golf scholarship. He left upon the death of close friend Bud Worsham and enlisted in the United States Coast Guard, where he served for three years and had some time to continue to hone his golf skills. Palmer returned to college and competitive golf. His win in the 1954 U.S. Amateur made him decide to try the pro tour for a while, and he and new bride Winifred Walzer (whom he had met at a Pennsylvania tournament) traveled the circuit for 1955. Fred Rogers of Mister Rogers Neighborhood, was a one-year ahead of Palmer at Latrobe high school.

Rise to superstardom[edit]

Palmer won the 1955 Canadian Open in his rookie season, and raised his game status for the next several seasons. Palmer's charisma was a major factor in establishing golf as a compelling television event in the 1950s and 1960s, setting the stage for the popularity it enjoys today. His first major championship win at the 1958 Masters Tournament cemented his position as one of the leading stars in golf, and by 1960 he had signed up as pioneering sports agent Mark McCormack's first client. In later interviews, McCormack listed five attributes that made Palmer especially marketable: his good looks; his relatively modest background (his father was a greenskeeper before rising to be club professional and Latrobe was a humble club); the way he played golf, taking risks and wearing his emotions on his sleeve; his involvement in a string of exciting finishes in early televised tournaments; and his affability.^[3]

Palmer is also credited by many for securing the status of The Open Championship (British Open) among U.S. players. AfterBen Hogan won that championship in 1953, few American professionals had traveled to play in The Open, due to its travel requirements, relatively small prize purses, and the style of its links courses (radically different from most American courses). Palmer was convinced by his business partner Mark McCormack that success in the Open — to emulate the feats of Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, Sam Snead and Hogan before him — would truly make him a global sporting star, not simply a leading American golfer. In particular, Palmer traveled to Scotland in 1960, having already won both the Masters and U.S. Open, to try to emulate Hogan's feat of 1953, of winning all three in a single year. He failed, losing out to Kel Nagleby a single shot, but his subsequent Open wins in the early 1960s convinced many American pros that a trip to Britain would be worth the effort, and certainly secured Palmer's popularity among British and European fans, not just American ones.

Palmer won seven major championships:

• The Masters: 1958, 1960, 1962, 1964
• U.S. Open: 1960
• The Open Championship: 1961, 1962^[4]

Palmer's most prolific years were 1960–1963, when he won 29 PGA Tour events, including five major tournament victories, in four seasons. In 1960, he won the Hickok Belt as the top professional athlete of the year and Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" award. He built up a wide fan base, often referred to as "Arnie's Army", and in 1967 he became the first man to reach one million dollars in career earnings on the PGA Tour. By the late 1960s Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player had both acquired clear ascendancy in their rivalry, but Palmer won a PGA Tour event every year from 1955 to 1971 inclusive, and in 1971 he enjoyed a revival, winning four events.

Palmer won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average four times: 1961, 1962, 1964, and 1967. He played on six Ryder Cup teams: 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1971, and 1973. He was the last playing captain in 1963, and captained the team again in 1975.

Palmer was eligible for the Senior PGA Tour (now the Champions Tour) from its first season in 1980, and he was one of the marquee names who helped it to become successful. He won ten events on the tour, including five senior majors.

Palmer won the first World Match Play Championship in England, an event which was originally organized by McCormack to showcase his stable of players. Their partnership was one of the most significant in the history of sports marketing. Long after he ceased to win tournaments, Palmer remained one of the highest earners in golf due to his appeal to sponsors and the public.

Palmer gives President Bush golf tips before being awarded thePresidential Medal of Freedom

In 2004, he competed in The Masters for the last time, marking his 50th consecutive appearance in that event. After missing the cut at the 2005 U.S. Senior Open by 21 shots, he announced that he would not enter any more senior majors. Since 2007, Palmer has served as the honorary starter for the Masters.^[5] He retired from tournament golf on October 13, 2006, when he withdrew from the Champions Tours' Administaff Small Business Classic after four holes due to dissatisfaction with his own play. He played the remaining holes but did not keep score.^[6] Palmer's legacy was reaffirmed by an electrifying moment during the 2004 Bay Hill Invitational. Standing over 200 yards from the water-guarded 18th green, Palmer, who is known for his aggressive play, lashed his second shot onto the green with a driver. The shot thrilled his loyal gallery and energized the excitable Palmer. He turned to his grandson and caddie, Sam Saunders, and gave him a prolonged shimmy and playful jeering in celebration of the moment.

Golf businesses[edit]

Palmer has had a diverse golf-related business career, including owning the Bay Hill Club and Lodge, which is the venue for the PGA Tour's Arnold Palmer Invitational (renamed from the Bay Hill Invitational in 2007), helping to found The Golf Channel,^[7] and negotiating the deal to build the first golf course in the People's Republic of China. This led to the formation of Palmer Course Design in 1972, which was renamed Arnold Palmer Design Company when the company moved to Orlando, Florida, in 2006. Palmer's design partner was Ed Seay. The Palmer–Seay team has designed over 200 courses around the world. Since 1971, he has owned Latrobe Country Club, where his father used to be the club professional. The licensing, endorsements, spokesman associations and commercial partnerships built by Palmer and McCormack are managed by Arnold Palmer Enterprises. Palmer is also a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects.

A case was initiated in 1997 by Palmer and fellow golfer Tiger Woods, in an effort to stop the unauthorized sale of their images and alleged signatures in the memorabilia market, against Bruce Matthews, the owner of Gotta Have It Golf, Inc. and others. Matthews and associated parties counter-claimed that Palmer and associated businesses committed several acts, including breach of contract, breach of implied duty of good faith and violations of Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.^[8] Woods was also named in the counter-suit, accused of violating the same licensing agreement.

On March 12, 2014, a Florida jury found in favor of Gotta Have It on its breach of contract and other related claims, rejected Palmer's and Woods's counterclaims, and awarded Gotta Have It $668,346 in damages.^[9][10] The award may end up exceeding $1 million once interest has been factored in, though the ruling may be appealed.^{[citation needed]}

One of Palmer's most recent^[when?] products is a branded use of the beverage known as the Arnold Palmer, which combines sweet iced tea with lemonade.^[11]

Legacy[edit]

In 2000, Palmer was ranked the sixth greatest player of all time in Golf Digest magazine's rankings.^[12]

According to Golf Digest, Palmer made $1,861,857 in 734 PGA Tour career starts over 53 years; he earned an estimated $30 million off the course in 2008.^[13]

Palmer was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2009.^[14][15] He was the first golfer to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the second golfer, after Byron Nelson, to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

In addition to Palmer's impressive list of awards, he has been bestowed the honor of kicking off the Masters Tournament since 2007. From 2007 to 2009, Palmer was the sole honorary starter. In 2010, longtime friend and competitor Jack Nicklaus was appointed by Augusta National to join Palmer.^[16] In 2012, golf's The Big Three reunited as South African golfer Gary Player joined for the ceremonial tee shots as honorary starters for the 76th playing of the Masters Tournament.^[17]

Personal life[edit]

Palmer still resides in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, during spring and summer months, and winters in La Quinta, California.^[18]

Palmer's grandson, Sam Saunders, is a professional golfer. Saunders grew up playing at Bay Hill, and won the Club Championship there at age 15. He attended Clemson University on a golf scholarship and turned pro in 2008. Saunders stated that Palmer's family nickname is "Dumpy".^[19]

An avid pilot for over 50 years, Palmer thought he would pilot a plane for the last time on January 31, 2011. He flew from Palm Springs, California to Orlando, Florida in hisCessna Citation X.^[20] His pilot's medical certificate expired that day and he chose not to renew it. However, public FAA records show he was issued a new third class medical in May 2011.

Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, is named for him. According to their website: "[The airport] started as the Longview Flying Field in 1924. It became J.D. Hill Airport in 1928, Latrobe Airport in 1935 and Westmoreland County Airport in 1978. Complimenting a rich history rooted in some of the earliest pioneers of aviation, the name was changed to Arnold Palmer Regional in 1999 to honor the Latrobe, Pennsylvania native golf legend who grew up less than a mile from the runway where he watched the world's first official airmail pickup in 1939 and later learned to fly himself."^[21] There is a statue of Palmer holding a golf club in front of the airport's entrance, unveiled in 2007.

Palmer was married to Winnie Palmer for 45 years. She died at age 65 on November 20, 1999 from complications due to ovarian cancer.^[22] Palmer remarried in 2005 to Kathleen Gawthrop.^[23]

Palmer appears on the cover of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 alongside Tiger Woods.

He has been a member of the Freemasons since 1958^[24] He was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason at Loyalhanna Lodge No. 275 in Latrobe, Pennsylvania where he remains an active member.

Amateur wins (26)[edit]

• 1946 WPIAL Championship, PIAA Championship
• 1947 WPIAL Championship, PIAA Championship, Western Pennsylvania Junior, Western Pennsylvania Amateur
• 1948 Southern Conference Championship, Sunnehanna Invitational, Western Pennsylvania Junior
• 1950 Southern Intercollegiate, Western Pennsylvania Amateur, Greensburg Invitational
• 1951 Western Pennsylvania Amateur, Worsharn Memorial
• 1952 Western Pennsylvania Amateur, Greensburg Invitational
• 1953 Ohio Amateur, Cleveland Amateur, Greensburg Invitational, Mayfield Heights Open, Evergreen Pitch and Putt Invitational
• 1954 U.S. Amateur, Ohio Amateur, All-American Amateur, Atlantic Coast Conference Championship, Bill Waite Memorial

Amateur major wins (1)[edit]

Year	Championship	Winning score	Runner-up
1954	U.S. Amateur	1 up	Robert Sweeny Jr.

Results timeline[edit]

Tournament	1948	1949	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954
U.S. Amateur	R256	R64	R256	DNP	DNP	R16	1

DNP = Did not play
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Source:^[25]

Professional wins (95)[edit]

PGA Tour wins (62)[edit]

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Aug 20, 1955	Canadian Open	−23 (64-67-64-70=265)	4 strokes	Jack Burke, Jr.
2	Jul 1, 1956	Insurance City Open	−10 (66-69-68-71=274)	Playoff	Ted Kroll
3	Jul 29, 1956	Eastern Open	−11 (70-66-69-72=277)	2 strokes	Dow Finsterwald
4	Feb 25, 1957	Houston Open	−9 (67-72-71-69=279)	1 stroke	Doug Ford
5	Mar 31, 1957	Azalea Open Invitational	−6 (70-67-70-75=282)	1 stroke	Dow Finsterwald
6	Jun 9, 1957	Rubber City Open Invitational	−12 (71-66-67-68=272)	Playoff	Doug Ford
7	Oct 30, 1957	San Diego Open Invitational	−17 (65-68-68-70=271)	1 stroke	Al Balding
8	Oct 20, 1958	St. Petersburg Open Invitational	−12 (70-69-72-65=276)	1 stroke	Al Balding,  Dow Finsterwald
9	Apr 6, 1958	Masters Tournament	−4 (70-73-68-73=284)	1 stroke	Doug Ford,  Fred Hawkins
10	Jun 29, 1958	Pepsi Championship	−11 (66-69-67-71=273)	5 strokes	Jay Hebert
11	Jan 25, 1959	Thunderbird Invitational	−18 (67-70-67-62=266)	Playoff	Jimmy Demaret,  Ken Venturi
12	May 11, 1959	Oklahoma City Open Invitational	−15 (73-64-67-69=273)	2 strokes	Bob Goalby
13	Nov 29, 1959	West Palm Beach Open Invitational	−7 (72-67-66-76=281)	Playoff	Gay Brewer,  Pete Cooper
14	Feb 7, 1960	Palm Springs Desert Golf Classic	−20 (67-73-67-66-65=338)	3 strokes	Fred Hawkins
15	Feb 28, 1960	Texas Open Invitational	−12 (69-65-67-75=276)	2 strokes	Doug Ford,  Frank Stranahan
16	Mar 6, 1960	Baton Rouge Open Invitational	−9 (71-71-69-68=279)	7 strokes	Jay Hebert,  Ron Reif,  Doug Sanders
17	Mar 13, 1960	Pensacola Open Invitational	−15 (68-65-73-67=273)	1 stroke	Doug Sanders
18	Apr 10, 1960	Masters Tournament	−6 (67-73-72-70=282)	1 stroke	Ken Venturi
19	Jun 18, 1960	U.S. Open	−4 (72-71-72-65=280)	2 strokes	Jack Nicklaus (amateur)
20	Aug 7, 1960	Insurance City Open Invitational	−14 (70-68-66-66=270)	Playoff	Bill Collins,  Jack Fleck
21	Nov 27, 1960	Mobile Sertoma Open Invitational	−14 (68-67-74-65=274)	2 strokes	Johnny Pott
22	Jan 15, 1961	San Diego Open Invitational	−13 (69-68-69-65=271)	Playoff	Al Balding
23	Feb 12, 1961	Phoenix Open Invitational	−10 (69-65-66-70=270)	Playoff	Doug Sanders
24	Feb 26, 1961	Baton Rouge Open Invitational	−22 (65-67-68-66=266)	7 strokes	Wes Ellis
25	Apr 30, 1961	Texas Open Invitational	−10 (67-63-72-68=270)	1 stroke	Al Balding
26	Jun 25, 1961	Western Open	−13 (65-70-67-69=271)	2 strokes	Sam Snead
27	Jul 15, 1961	The Open Championship	−4 (70-73-69-72=284)	1 stroke	Dai Rees
28	Feb 4, 1962	Palm Springs Golf Classic	−17 (69-67-66-71-69=342)	3 strokes	Jay Hebert,  Gene Littler
29	Feb 11, 1962	Phoenix Open Invitational	−15 (64-68-71-66=269)	12 strokes	Billy Casper,  Don Fairfield,  Bob McCallister
30	Apr 9, 1962	Masters Tournament	−8 (70-66-69-75-68=280)	Playoff	Dow Finsterwald,  Gary Player
31	Apr 29, 1962	Texas Open Invitational	−11 (67-69-70-67=273)	1 stroke	Joe Campbell,  Gene Littler,  Mason Rudolph,  Doug Sanders
32	May 6, 1962	Tournament of Champions	−12 (69-70-69-68=276)	1 stroke	Billy Casper
33	May 13, 1962	Colonial National Invitation	+1 (67-72-66-76=281)	Playoff	Johnny Pott
34	Jul 13, 1962	The Open Championship	−12 (71-69-67-69=276)	6 strokes	Kel Nagle
35	Aug 12, 1962	American Golf Classic	−4 (67-69-70-70=276)	5 strokes	Mason Rudolph
36	Jan 7, 1963	Los Angeles Open	−10 (69-69-70-66=274)	3 strokes	Al Balding,  Gary Player
37	Feb 12, 1963	Phoenix Open Invitational	−15 (68-67-68-70=273)	1 stroke	Gary Player
38	Mar 10, 1963	Pensacola Open Invitational	−15 (69-68-69-67=273)	2 strokes	Harold Kneece,  Gary Player
39	Jun 16, 1963	Thunderbird Classic Invitational	−11 (67-70-68-72=277)	Playoff	Paul Harney
40	Jul 1, 1963	Cleveland Open Invitational	−11 (71-68-66-68=273)	Playoff	Tommy Aaron,  Tony Lema
41	Jul 29, 1963	Western Open	−4 (73-67-67-73=280)	Playoff	Julius Boros,  Jack Nicklaus
42	Oct 6, 1963	Whitemarsh Open Invitational	−7 (70-71-66-74=281)	1 stroke	Lionel Hebert
43	Apr 12, 1964	Masters Tournament	−12 (69-68-69-70=276)	6 strokes	Dave Marr,  Jack Nicklaus
44	May 18, 1964	Oklahoma City Open Invitational	−11 (72-69-69-67=277)	2 strokes	Lionel Hebert
45	May 2, 1965	Tournament of Champions	−11 (66-69-71-71=277)	3 strokes	Chi Chi Rodriguez
46	Jan 9, 1966	Los Angeles Open	−11 (72-66-62-73=273)	3 strokes	Miller Barber,  Paul Harney
47	Apr 18, 1966	Tournament of Champions	−5 (74-70-70-69=283)	Playoff	Gay Brewer
48	Nov 20, 1966	Houston Champions International	−9 (70-68-68-69=275)	1 stroke	Gardner Dickinson
49	Jan 29, 1967	Los Angeles Open	−15 (70-64-67-68=269)	5 strokes	Gay Brewer
50	Feb 19, 1967	Tucson Open Invitational	−15 (66-67-67-73=273)	1 stroke	Chuck Courtney
51	Aug 13, 1967	American Golf Classic	−4 (70-67-72-67=276)	3 stroke	Doug Sanders
52	Sep 24, 1967	Thunderbird Classic	−5 (71-71-72-69=283)	1 stroke	Charles Coody,  Jack Nicklaus,  Art Wall, Jr.
53	Feb 4, 1968	Bob Hope Desert Classic	−12 (72-70-67-71-68=348)	Playoff	Deane Beman
54	Sep 15, 1968	Kemper Open	−12 (69-70-70-67=276)	4 strokes	Bruce Crampton,  Art Wall, Jr.
55	Nov 30, 1969	Heritage Golf Classic	−1 (68-71-70-74=283)	3 strokes	Dick Crawford,  Bert Yancey
56	Dec 7, 1969	Danny Thomas-Diplomat Classic	−18 (68-67-70-65=270)	2 strokes	Gay Brewer
57	Jul 26, 1970	National Four-Ball Championship PGA Players (with  Jack Nicklaus)	−25 (61-67-64-67=259)	3 strokes	Bruce Crampton &  Orville Moody,  Gardner Dickinson &  Sam Snead,  George Archer &  Bobby Nichols
58	Feb 14, 1971	Bob Hope Desert Classic	−18 (67-71-66-68-70=342)	Playoff	Raymond Floyd
59	Mar 14, 1971	Florida Citrus Invitational	−18 (66-68-68-68=270)	1 stroke	Julius Boros
60	Jul 25, 1971	Westchester Classic	−18 (64-70-68-68=270)	5 strokes	Gibby Gilbert,  Hale Irwin
61	Aug 1, 1971	National Team Championship (with  Jack Nicklaus)	−27 (62-64-65-66=257)	6 strokes	Julius Boros &  Bill Collins,  Bob Charles &  Bruce Devlin
62	Feb 11, 1973	Bob Hope Desert Classic	−17 (71-66-69-68-69=343)	2 strokes	Jack Nicklaus,  Johnny Miller

PGA Tour playoff record (14–10)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1956	Insurance City Open	Ted Kroll	Won with birdie on second extra hole
2	1957	Rubber City Open Invitational	Doug Ford	Won with birdie on sixth extra hole
3	1958	Azalea Open	Howie Johnson	Lost 18-hole playoff (Johnson:77, Palmer:78)
4	1959	West Palm Beach Open	Gay Brewer,  Pete Cooper	Won with par on fourth extra hole
5	1960	Houston Classic	Bill Collins	Lost 18-hole playoff (Collins:69, Palmer:71)
6	1960	Insurance City Open	Bill Collins,  Jack Fleck	Palmer won with birdie on third extra hole Collins eliminated with birdie on first hole
7	1961	San Diego Open Invitational	Al Balding	Won with birdie on first extra hole
8	1961	Phoenix Open Invitational	Doug Sanders	Won 18-hole playoff (Palmer:67 Sanders: 70)
9	1961	500 Festival Open Invitation	Doug Ford	Lost to birdie on second extra hole
10	1962	Masters Tournament	Dow Finsterwald,  Gary Player	Won 18-hole playoff (Palmer:68, Player:71, Finsterwald:77)
11	1962	Colonial National Invitation	Johnny Pott	Won 18-hole playoff (Palmer:69, Pott:73)
12	1962	U.S. Open	Jack Nicklaus	Lost 18-hole playoff (Nicklaus:71, Palmer:74)
13	1963	Thunderbird Classic	Paul Harney	Won with par on first extra hole
14	1963	U.S. Open	Julius Boros, Jacky Cupit	Lost 18-hole playoff (Boros:70, Cupit:73, Palmer:76)
15	1963	Cleveland Open	Tommy Aaron,  Tony Lema	Won 18-hole playoff (Palmer:67, Aaron:70, Lema:70)
16	1963	Western Open	Julius Boros, Jack Nicklaus	Won 18-hole playoff (Palmer:70, Boros:71, Nicklaus:73)
17	1964	Cleveland Open	Tony Lema	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
18	1964	Pensacola Open	Miller Barber,  Gary Player	Lost 18-hole playoff (Player:71, Palmer:72, Barber:74)
19	1966	Bob Hope Desert Classic	Doug Sanders	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
20	1966	Tournament of Champions	Gay Brewer	Won 18-hole playoff (Palmer:69, Brewer:73)
21	1966	U.S. Open	Billy Casper	Lost 18-hole playoff (Casper:69, Palmer:73)
22	1968	Bob Hope Desert Classic	Deane Beman	Won with par on second extra hole
23	1970	Byron Nelson Golf Classic	Jack Nicklaus	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
24	1971	Bob Hope Desert Classic	Raymond Floyd	Won with birdie on second extra hole

Source:^[26]

Other wins (18)[edit]

• 1956 Panama Open, Colombian Open
• 1958 Long Island Open
• 1960 Canada Cup (with Sam Snead)
• 1962 Canada Cup (with Sam Snead)
• 1963 Australian Wills Masters Tournament, Canada Cup (with Jack Nicklaus)
• 1964 Piccadilly World Match Play Championship (England, but not a European Tour event at that time), Canada Cup (with Jack Nicklaus)
• 1966 Australian Open, Canada Cup (with Jack Nicklaus), PGA Team Championship (with Jack Nicklaus)
• 1967 Piccadilly World Match Play Championship (England, but not a European Tour event at that time), World Cup (with Jack Nicklaus)
• 1971 Lancome Trophy (France, but not a European Tour event at that time)
• 1975 Spanish Open (European Tour), Penfold PGA Championship (European Tour)
• 1980 Canadian PGA Championship

Senior PGA Tour wins (10)[edit]

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Dec 7, 1980	PGA Seniors Championship	+1 (72-69-73-75=289)	Playoff	Paul Harney
2	Jul 12, 1981	U.S. Senior Open	+9 (72-76-68-73=289)	Playoff	Billy Casper,  Bob Stone
3	Jun 13, 1982	Marlboro Classic	−8 (68-70-69-69=276)	4 strokes	Billy Casper,  Bob Rosburg
4	Aug 15, 1982	Denver Post Champions of Golf	−5 (68-67-73-67=275)	1 stroke	Bob Goalby
5	Dec 4, 1983	Boca Grove Seniors Classic	−17 (65-69-70-67=271)	3 strokes	Billy Casper
6	Jan 22, 1984	General Foods PGA Seniors' Championship	−12 (66-66-72=204)	2 strokes	Don January
7	Jun 24, 1984	Senior Tournament Players Championship	−6 (69-63-79-71=282)	3 strokes	Peter Thomson
8	Dec 2, 1984	Quadel Seniors Classic	−11 (67-71-67=205)	1 stroke	Lee Elder,  Orville Moody
9	Jun 23, 1985	Senior Tournament Players Championship	−14 (67-71-68-68=274)	11 strokes	Miller Barber,  Lee Elder,  Gene Littler,  Charles Owens
10	Sep 18, 1988	Crestar Classic	−13 (65-68-70=203)	4 strokes	Lee Elder,  Jim Ferree,  Larry Mowry

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (2–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1980	PGA Seniors' Championship	Paul Harney	Won with birdie on first extra hole
2	1981	U.S. Senior Open	Billy Casper,  Bob Stone	Won 18-hole playoff (Palmer:70, Stone:74, Casper:77)
3	1984	Daytona Beach Seniors Golf Classic	Orville Moody,  Dan Sikes	Moody won with birdie on second extra hole

Senior majors are shown in bold.

Other senior wins (5)[edit]

• 1984 Doug Sanders Celebrity Pro-Am
• 1986 Union Mutual Classic
• 1990 Senior Skins Game
• 1992 Senior Skins Game
• 1993 Senior Skins Game

Major championships[edit]

Wins (7)[edit]

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
1958	Masters Tournament	Tied for lead	−4 (70-73-68-73=284)	1 stroke	Doug Ford,  Fred Hawkins
1960	Masters Tournament (2)	1 shot lead	−6 (67-73-72-70=282)	1 stroke	Ken Venturi
1960	U.S. Open	7 shot deficit	−4 (72-71-72-65=280)	2 strokes	Jack Nicklaus
1961	The Open Championship	1 shot lead	−4 (70-73-69-72=284)	1 stroke	Dai Rees
1962	Masters Tournament (3)	2 shot lead	−8 (70-66-69-75=280)	Playoff 1	Gary Player,  Dow Finsterwald
1962	The Open Championship (2)	5 shot lead	−12 (71-69-67-69=276)	6 strokes	Kel Nagle
1964	Masters Tournament (4)	5 shot lead	−12 (69-68-69-70=276)	6 strokes	Dave Marr,  Jack Nicklaus

¹ Defeated Gary Player & Dow Finsterwald in 18-hole playoff – Palmer 68 (−4), Player 71 (−1), Finsterwald 77 (+5)

Results timeline[edit]

Tournament	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	T10	21	T7	1	3
U.S. Open	CUT	CUT	T21	7	CUT	T23	T5
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T40	T14

Tournament	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
Masters Tournament	1	T2	1	T9	1	T2	T4	4	CUT	27
U.S. Open	1	T14	2	T2	T5	CUT	2	2	59	T6
The Open Championship	2	1	1	T26	DNP	16	T8	DNP	T10	DNP
PGA Championship	T7	T5	T17	T40	T2	T33	T6	T14	T2	WD

Tournament	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Masters Tournament	T36	T18	T33	T24	T11	T13	CUT	T24	T37	CUT
U.S. Open	T54	T24	3	T4	T5	T9	T50	T19	CUT	T59
The Open Championship	12	DNP	T7	T14	DNP	T16	T55	7	T34	DNP
PGA Championship	T2	T18	T16	CUT	T28	T33	T15	T19	CUT	CUT

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
Masters Tournament	T24	CUT	47	T36	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT
U.S. Open	63	CUT	CUT	T60	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	CUT	T23	T27	T56	CUT	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	CUT
PGA Championship	T72	76	CUT	T67	CUT	T65	CUT	T65	CUT	T63

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
Masters Tournament	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Masters Tournament	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Summary[edit]

Tournament	Wins	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	4	2	1	9	12	19	50	25
U.S. Open	1	4	1	10	13	18	33	24
The Open Championship	2	1	0	3	7	12	23	17
PGA Championship	0	3	0	4	6	13	37	24
Totals	7	10	2	26	38	62	143	90

• Most consecutive cuts made – 26 (1958 Masters – 1965 Masters)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 6 (1966 Masters – 1967 U.S. Open)

Champions Tour major championships[edit]

Wins (5)[edit]

Year	Championship	Winning score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
1980	PGA Seniors' Championship	+1 (72-69-73-75=289)	Playoff1	Paul Harney
1981	U.S. Senior Open	+9 (72-76-68-73=289)	Playoff2	Billy Casper,  Bob Stone
1984a	General Foods PGA Seniors' Championship (2)	−6 (69-63-79-71=282)	2 strokes	Don January
1984	Senior Players Championship	−12 (72-68-67-69=276)	3 strokes	Peter Thomson
1985	Senior Players Championship (2)	−14 (67-71-68-68=274)	11 strokes	Miller Barber,  Lee Elder,  Gene Littler,  Charles Owens

^a This was the January edition of the tournament.
¹ Palmer won this with a birdie on the first playoff hole.
² Won in an 18-hole playoff, Palmer shot a (70) to Stone's (74) and Casper's (77).

U.S. national team appearances[edit]

Professional

• Ryder Cup: 1961 (winners), 1963 (winners, playing captain), 1965 (winners), 1967 (winners), 1971 (winners), 1973 (winners), 1975 (winners, non-playing captain)
• World Cup: 1960 (winners), 1962 (winners), 1963 (winners), 1964 (winners), 1966 (winners), 1967 (winners, individual winner)

See also[edit]

	Biography portal
	Golf portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arnold Palmer.

• Arnold Palmer (drink)
• Arnold Palmer Center for Golf History
• Arnold Palmer Tournament Golf (video game)
• List of celebrities who own wineries and vineyards
• List of golfers with most Champions Tour major championship wins
• List of golfers with most Champions Tour wins
• List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins
• List of golfers with most wins in one PGA Tour event
• List of men's major championships winning golfers
• Longest PGA Tour win streaks
• Most PGA Tour wins in a year
• For the PGA Tour golf tournament, see Arnold Palmer Invitational. For the drink, see Arnold Palmer (drink).

  Arnold Palmer
  — Golfer —
  Palmer in 1953
  Personal information
  Full name	Arnold Daniel Palmer
  Nickname	The King
  Born	September 10, 1929 (age 85) Latrobe, Pennsylvania
  Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
  Weight	185 lb (84 kg)
  Nationality	United States
  Residence	Latrobe, Pennsylvania Orlando, Florida
  Spouse	Winifred Walzer Palmer (1934–99) (m. 1954–99, her death) Kathleen Gawthrop (m. 2005)
  Career
  College	Wake Forest College
  Turned professional	1954
  Retired	2006
  Former tour(s)	PGA Tour Champions Tour
  Professional wins	95
  Number of wins by tour
  PGA Tour	62 (5th all time)
  European Tour	2
  PGA Tour of Australasia	2
  Champions Tour	10
  Best results in major championships (Wins: 7)
  Masters Tournament	Won: 1958, 1960, 1962,1964
  U.S. Open	Won: 1960
  The Open Championship	Won: 1961, 1962
  PGA Championship	T2: 1964, 1968, 1970
  Achievements and awards
  World Golf Hall of Fame	1974 (member page)
  PGA Tour leading money winner	1958, 1960, 1962, 1963
  PGA Player of the Year	1960, 1962
  Vardon Trophy	1961, 1962, 1964, 1967
  Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year	1960
  Bob Jones Award	1971
  Old Tom Morris Award	1983
  PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award	1998
  Payne Stewart Award	2000
  Presidential Medal of Freedom	2004
  Congressional Gold Medal	2009

  

  Twenty-three-year-old Arnold Palmer in the United States Coast Guard in 1953
  Arnold Daniel Palmer (born September 10, 1929) is a retired American professional golfer, who is generally regarded as one of the greatest players in men's professional golf history. He has won numerous events on both the PGA Tour andChampions Tour, dating back to 1955. Nicknamed "The King", he is one of golf's most popular stars and its most important trailblazer, because he was the first superstar of the sport's television age, which began in the 1950s. Palmer's social impact on behalf of golf was perhaps unrivaled among fellow professionals; Palmer's humble background and plain-spoken popularity helped change the perception of golf as an elite, upper-class pastime to a more democratic sport accessible to middle and working classes.^[1] Palmer is part of "The Big Three" in golf during the 1960s, along with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, who are widely credited with popularizing and commercializing the sport around the world.
  Palmer won the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998, and in 1974 was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

  Contents

  • 1 Career outline
    • 1.1 Early life
    • 1.2 Rise to superstardom
    • 1.3 Golf businesses
  • 2 Legacy
  • 3 Personal life
  • 4 Amateur wins (26)
    • 4.1 Amateur major wins (1)
    • 4.2 Results timeline
  • 5 Professional wins (95)
    • 5.1 PGA Tour wins (62)
    • 5.2 Other wins (18)
    • 5.3 Senior PGA Tour wins (10)
    • 5.4 Other senior wins (5)
  • 6 Major championships
    • 6.1 Wins (7)
    • 6.2 Results timeline
    • 6.3 Summary
  • 7 Champions Tour major championships
    • 7.1 Wins (5)
  • 8 U.S. national team appearances
  • 9 See also
  • 10 References
  • 11 External links

  Career outline[edit]

  Early life[edit]

  Palmer was born in the Pittsburgh suburb of Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He learned golf from his father, Milfred (Deacon) Palmer who had suffered from polio at a young age and was head professional and greenskeeper at Latrobe Country Club, allowing young Arnold to accompany his father as he maintained the course.^[2] He attended Wake Forest College on a golf scholarship. He left upon the death of close friend Bud Worsham and enlisted in the United States Coast Guard, where he served for three years and had some time to continue to hone his golf skills. Palmer returned to college and competitive golf. His win in the 1954 U.S. Amateur made him decide to try the pro tour for a while, and he and new bride Winifred Walzer (whom he had met at a Pennsylvania tournament) traveled the circuit for 1955. Fred Rogers of Mister Rogers Neighborhood, was a one-year ahead of Palmer at Latrobe high school.

  Rise to superstardom[edit]

  Palmer won the 1955 Canadian Open in his rookie season, and raised his game status for the next several seasons. Palmer's charisma was a major factor in establishing golf as a compelling television event in the 1950s and 1960s, setting the stage for the popularity it enjoys today. His first major championship win at the 1958 Masters Tournament cemented his position as one of the leading stars in golf, and by 1960 he had signed up as pioneering sports agent Mark McCormack's first client. In later interviews, McCormack listed five attributes that made Palmer especially marketable: his good looks; his relatively modest background (his father was a greenskeeper before rising to be club professional and Latrobe was a humble club); the way he played golf, taking risks and wearing his emotions on his sleeve; his involvement in a string of exciting finishes in early televised tournaments; and his affability.^[3]
  Palmer is also credited by many for securing the status of The Open Championship (British Open) among U.S. players. AfterBen Hogan won that championship in 1953, few American professionals had traveled to play in The Open, due to its travel requirements, relatively small prize purses, and the style of its links courses (radically different from most American courses). Palmer was convinced by his business partner Mark McCormack that success in the Open — to emulate the feats of Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, Sam Snead and Hogan before him — would truly make him a global sporting star, not simply a leading American golfer. In particular, Palmer traveled to Scotland in 1960, having already won both the Masters and U.S. Open, to try to emulate Hogan's feat of 1953, of winning all three in a single year. He failed, losing out to Kel Nagleby a single shot, but his subsequent Open wins in the early 1960s convinced many American pros that a trip to Britain would be worth the effort, and certainly secured Palmer's popularity among British and European fans, not just American ones.
  Palmer won seven major championships:
  • The Masters: 1958, 1960, 1962, 1964
  • U.S. Open: 1960
  • The Open Championship: 1961, 1962^[4]
  Palmer's most prolific years were 1960–1963, when he won 29 PGA Tour events, including five major tournament victories, in four seasons. In 1960, he won the Hickok Belt as the top professional athlete of the year and Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" award. He built up a wide fan base, often referred to as "Arnie's Army", and in 1967 he became the first man to reach one million dollars in career earnings on the PGA Tour. By the late 1960s Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player had both acquired clear ascendancy in their rivalry, but Palmer won a PGA Tour event every year from 1955 to 1971 inclusive, and in 1971 he enjoyed a revival, winning four events.
  Palmer won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average four times: 1961, 1962, 1964, and 1967. He played on six Ryder Cup teams: 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1971, and 1973. He was the last playing captain in 1963, and captained the team again in 1975.
  Palmer was eligible for the Senior PGA Tour (now the Champions Tour) from its first season in 1980, and he was one of the marquee names who helped it to become successful. He won ten events on the tour, including five senior majors.
  Palmer won the first World Match Play Championship in England, an event which was originally organized by McCormack to showcase his stable of players. Their partnership was one of the most significant in the history of sports marketing. Long after he ceased to win tournaments, Palmer remained one of the highest earners in golf due to his appeal to sponsors and the public.
  

  Palmer gives President Bush golf tips before being awarded thePresidential Medal of Freedom
  In 2004, he competed in The Masters for the last time, marking his 50th consecutive appearance in that event. After missing the cut at the 2005 U.S. Senior Open by 21 shots, he announced that he would not enter any more senior majors. Since 2007, Palmer has served as the honorary starter for the Masters.^[5] He retired from tournament golf on October 13, 2006, when he withdrew from the Champions Tours' Administaff Small Business Classic after four holes due to dissatisfaction with his own play. He played the remaining holes but did not keep score.^[6] Palmer's legacy was reaffirmed by an electrifying moment during the 2004 Bay Hill Invitational. Standing over 200 yards from the water-guarded 18th green, Palmer, who is known for his aggressive play, lashed his second shot onto the green with a driver. The shot thrilled his loyal gallery and energized the excitable Palmer. He turned to his grandson and caddie, Sam Saunders, and gave him a prolonged shimmy and playful jeering in celebration of the moment.

  Golf businesses[edit]

  Palmer has had a diverse golf-related business career, including owning the Bay Hill Club and Lodge, which is the venue for the PGA Tour's Arnold Palmer Invitational (renamed from the Bay Hill Invitational in 2007), helping to found The Golf Channel,^[7] and negotiating the deal to build the first golf course in the People's Republic of China. This led to the formation of Palmer Course Design in 1972, which was renamed Arnold Palmer Design Company when the company moved to Orlando, Florida, in 2006. Palmer's design partner was Ed Seay. The Palmer–Seay team has designed over 200 courses around the world. Since 1971, he has owned Latrobe Country Club, where his father used to be the club professional. The licensing, endorsements, spokesman associations and commercial partnerships built by Palmer and McCormack are managed by Arnold Palmer Enterprises. Palmer is also a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects.
  A case was initiated in 1997 by Palmer and fellow golfer Tiger Woods, in an effort to stop the unauthorized sale of their images and alleged signatures in the memorabilia market, against Bruce Matthews, the owner of Gotta Have It Golf, Inc. and others. Matthews and associated parties counter-claimed that Palmer and associated businesses committed several acts, including breach of contract, breach of implied duty of good faith and violations of Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.^[8] Woods was also named in the counter-suit, accused of violating the same licensing agreement.
  On March 12, 2014, a Florida jury found in favor of Gotta Have It on its breach of contract and other related claims, rejected Palmer's and Woods's counterclaims, and awarded Gotta Have It $668,346 in damages.^[9][10] The award may end up exceeding $1 million once interest has been factored in, though the ruling may be appealed.^{[citation needed]}
  One of Palmer's most recent^[when?] products is a branded use of the beverage known as the Arnold Palmer, which combines sweet iced tea with lemonade.^[11]

  Legacy[edit]

  In 2000, Palmer was ranked the sixth greatest player of all time in Golf Digest magazine's rankings.^[12]
  According to Golf Digest, Palmer made $1,861,857 in 734 PGA Tour career starts over 53 years; he earned an estimated $30 million off the course in 2008.^[13]
  Palmer was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2009.^[14][15] He was the first golfer to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the second golfer, after Byron Nelson, to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
  In addition to Palmer's impressive list of awards, he has been bestowed the honor of kicking off the Masters Tournament since 2007. From 2007 to 2009, Palmer was the sole honorary starter. In 2010, longtime friend and competitor Jack Nicklaus was appointed by Augusta National to join Palmer.^[16] In 2012, golf's The Big Three reunited as South African golfer Gary Player joined for the ceremonial tee shots as honorary starters for the 76th playing of the Masters Tournament.^[17]

  Personal life[edit]

  Palmer still resides in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, during spring and summer months, and winters in La Quinta, California.^[18]
  Palmer's grandson, Sam Saunders, is a professional golfer. Saunders grew up playing at Bay Hill, and won the Club Championship there at age 15. He attended Clemson University on a golf scholarship and turned pro in 2008. Saunders stated that Palmer's family nickname is "Dumpy".^[19]
  An avid pilot for over 50 years, Palmer thought he would pilot a plane for the last time on January 31, 2011. He flew from Palm Springs, California to Orlando, Florida in hisCessna Citation X.^[20] His pilot's medical certificate expired that day and he chose not to renew it. However, public FAA records show he was issued a new third class medical in May 2011.
  Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, is named for him. According to their website: "[The airport] started as the Longview Flying Field in 1924. It became J.D. Hill Airport in 1928, Latrobe Airport in 1935 and Westmoreland County Airport in 1978. Complimenting a rich history rooted in some of the earliest pioneers of aviation, the name was changed to Arnold Palmer Regional in 1999 to honor the Latrobe, Pennsylvania native golf legend who grew up less than a mile from the runway where he watched the world's first official airmail pickup in 1939 and later learned to fly himself."^[21] There is a statue of Palmer holding a golf club in front of the airport's entrance, unveiled in 2007.
  Palmer was married to Winnie Palmer for 45 years. She died at age 65 on November 20, 1999 from complications due to ovarian cancer.^[22] Palmer remarried in 2005 to Kathleen Gawthrop.^[23]
  Palmer appears on the cover of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 alongside Tiger Woods.
  He has been a member of the Freemasons since 1958^[24] He was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason at Loyalhanna Lodge No. 275 in Latrobe, Pennsylvania where he remains an active member.

  Amateur wins (26)[edit]

  • 1946 WPIAL Championship, PIAA Championship
  • 1947 WPIAL Championship, PIAA Championship, Western Pennsylvania Junior, Western Pennsylvania Amateur
  • 1948 Southern Conference Championship, Sunnehanna Invitational, Western Pennsylvania Junior
  • 1950 Southern Intercollegiate, Western Pennsylvania Amateur, Greensburg Invitational
  • 1951 Western Pennsylvania Amateur, Worsharn Memorial
  • 1952 Western Pennsylvania Amateur, Greensburg Invitational
  • 1953 Ohio Amateur, Cleveland Amateur, Greensburg Invitational, Mayfield Heights Open, Evergreen Pitch and Putt Invitational
  • 1954 U.S. Amateur, Ohio Amateur, All-American Amateur, Atlantic Coast Conference Championship, Bill Waite Memorial

  Amateur major wins (1)[edit]

  Year	Championship	Winning score	Runner-up
  1954	U.S. Amateur	1 up	Robert Sweeny Jr.

  Results timeline[edit]

  Tournament	1948	1949	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954
  U.S. Amateur	R256	R64	R256	DNP	DNP	R16	1

  DNP = Did not play
  R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
  Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10
  Source:^[25]

  Professional wins (95)[edit]

  PGA Tour wins (62)[edit]

  No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
  1	Aug 20, 1955	Canadian Open	−23 (64-67-64-70=265)	4 strokes	Jack Burke, Jr.
  2	Jul 1, 1956	Insurance City Open	−10 (66-69-68-71=274)	Playoff	Ted Kroll
  3	Jul 29, 1956	Eastern Open	−11 (70-66-69-72=277)	2 strokes	Dow Finsterwald
  4	Feb 25, 1957	Houston Open	−9 (67-72-71-69=279)	1 stroke	Doug Ford
  5	Mar 31, 1957	Azalea Open Invitational	−6 (70-67-70-75=282)	1 stroke	Dow Finsterwald
  6	Jun 9, 1957	Rubber City Open Invitational	−12 (71-66-67-68=272)	Playoff	Doug Ford
  7	Oct 30, 1957	San Diego Open Invitational	−17 (65-68-68-70=271)	1 stroke	Al Balding
  8	Oct 20, 1958	St. Petersburg Open Invitational	−12 (70-69-72-65=276)	1 stroke	Al Balding,  Dow Finsterwald
  9	Apr 6, 1958	Masters Tournament	−4 (70-73-68-73=284)	1 stroke	Doug Ford,  Fred Hawkins
  10	Jun 29, 1958	Pepsi Championship	−11 (66-69-67-71=273)	5 strokes	Jay Hebert
  11	Jan 25, 1959	Thunderbird Invitational	−18 (67-70-67-62=266)	Playoff	Jimmy Demaret,  Ken Venturi
  12	May 11, 1959	Oklahoma City Open Invitational	−15 (73-64-67-69=273)	2 strokes	Bob Goalby
  13	Nov 29, 1959	West Palm Beach Open Invitational	−7 (72-67-66-76=281)	Playoff	Gay Brewer,  Pete Cooper
  14	Feb 7, 1960	Palm Springs Desert Golf Classic	−20 (67-73-67-66-65=338)	3 strokes	Fred Hawkins
  15	Feb 28, 1960	Texas Open Invitational	−12 (69-65-67-75=276)	2 strokes	Doug Ford,  Frank Stranahan
  16	Mar 6, 1960	Baton Rouge Open Invitational	−9 (71-71-69-68=279)	7 strokes	Jay Hebert,  Ron Reif,  Doug Sanders
  17	Mar 13, 1960	Pensacola Open Invitational	−15 (68-65-73-67=273)	1 stroke	Doug Sanders
  18	Apr 10, 1960	Masters Tournament	−6 (67-73-72-70=282)	1 stroke	Ken Venturi
  19	Jun 18, 1960	U.S. Open	−4 (72-71-72-65=280)	2 strokes	Jack Nicklaus (amateur)
  20	Aug 7, 1960	Insurance City Open Invitational	−14 (70-68-66-66=270)	Playoff	Bill Collins,  Jack Fleck
  21	Nov 27, 1960	Mobile Sertoma Open Invitational	−14 (68-67-74-65=274)	2 strokes	Johnny Pott
  22	Jan 15, 1961	San Diego Open Invitational	−13 (69-68-69-65=271)	Playoff	Al Balding
  23	Feb 12, 1961	Phoenix Open Invitational	−10 (69-65-66-70=270)	Playoff	Doug Sanders
  24	Feb 26, 1961	Baton Rouge Open Invitational	−22 (65-67-68-66=266)	7 strokes	Wes Ellis
  25	Apr 30, 1961	Texas Open Invitational	−10 (67-63-72-68=270)	1 stroke	Al Balding
  26	Jun 25, 1961	Western Open	−13 (65-70-67-69=271)	2 strokes	Sam Snead
  27	Jul 15, 1961	The Open Championship	−4 (70-73-69-72=284)	1 stroke	Dai Rees
  28	Feb 4, 1962	Palm Springs Golf Classic	−17 (69-67-66-71-69=342)	3 strokes	Jay Hebert,  Gene Littler
  29	Feb 11, 1962	Phoenix Open Invitational	−15 (64-68-71-66=269)	12 strokes	Billy Casper,  Don Fairfield,  Bob McCallister
  30	Apr 9, 1962	Masters Tournament	−8 (70-66-69-75-68=280)	Playoff	Dow Finsterwald,  Gary Player
  31	Apr 29, 1962	Texas Open Invitational	−11 (67-69-70-67=273)	1 stroke	Joe Campbell,  Gene Littler,  Mason Rudolph,  Doug Sanders
  32	May 6, 1962	Tournament of Champions	−12 (69-70-69-68=276)	1 stroke	Billy Casper
  33	May 13, 1962	Colonial National Invitation	+1 (67-72-66-76=281)	Playoff	Johnny Pott
  34	Jul 13, 1962	The Open Championship	−12 (71-69-67-69=276)	6 strokes	Kel Nagle
  35	Aug 12, 1962	American Golf Classic	−4 (67-69-70-70=276)	5 strokes	Mason Rudolph
  36	Jan 7, 1963	Los Angeles Open	−10 (69-69-70-66=274)	3 strokes	Al Balding,  Gary Player
  37	Feb 12, 1963	Phoenix Open Invitational	−15 (68-67-68-70=273)	1 stroke	Gary Player
  38	Mar 10, 1963	Pensacola Open Invitational	−15 (69-68-69-67=273)	2 strokes	Harold Kneece,  Gary Player
  39	Jun 16, 1963	Thunderbird Classic Invitational	−11 (67-70-68-72=277)	Playoff	Paul Harney
  40	Jul 1, 1963	Cleveland Open Invitational	−11 (71-68-66-68=273)	Playoff	Tommy Aaron,  Tony Lema
  41	Jul 29, 1963	Western Open	−4 (73-67-67-73=280)	Playoff	Julius Boros,  Jack Nicklaus
  42	Oct 6, 1963	Whitemarsh Open Invitational	−7 (70-71-66-74=281)	1 stroke	Lionel Hebert
  43	Apr 12, 1964	Masters Tournament	−12 (69-68-69-70=276)	6 strokes	Dave Marr,  Jack Nicklaus
  44	May 18, 1964	Oklahoma City Open Invitational	−11 (72-69-69-67=277)	2 strokes	Lionel Hebert
  45	May 2, 1965	Tournament of Champions	−11 (66-69-71-71=277)	3 strokes	Chi Chi Rodriguez
  46	Jan 9, 1966	Los Angeles Open	−11 (72-66-62-73=273)	3 strokes	Miller Barber,  Paul Harney
  47	Apr 18, 1966	Tournament of Champions	−5 (74-70-70-69=283)	Playoff	Gay Brewer
  48	Nov 20, 1966	Houston Champions International	−9 (70-68-68-69=275)	1 stroke	Gardner Dickinson
  49	Jan 29, 1967	Los Angeles Open	−15 (70-64-67-68=269)	5 strokes	Gay Brewer
  50	Feb 19, 1967	Tucson Open Invitational	−15 (66-67-67-73=273)	1 stroke	Chuck Courtney
  51	Aug 13, 1967	American Golf Classic	−4 (70-67-72-67=276)	3 stroke	Doug Sanders
  52	Sep 24, 1967	Thunderbird Classic	−5 (71-71-72-69=283)	1 stroke	Charles Coody,  Jack Nicklaus,  Art Wall, Jr.
  53	Feb 4, 1968	Bob Hope Desert Classic	−12 (72-70-67-71-68=348)	Playoff	Deane Beman
  54	Sep 15, 1968	Kemper Open	−12 (69-70-70-67=276)	4 strokes	Bruce Crampton,  Art Wall, Jr.
  55	Nov 30, 1969	Heritage Golf Classic	−1 (68-71-70-74=283)	3 strokes	Dick Crawford,  Bert Yancey
  56	Dec 7, 1969	Danny Thomas-Diplomat Classic	−18 (68-67-70-65=270)	2 strokes	Gay Brewer
  57	Jul 26, 1970	National Four-Ball Championship PGA Players (with  Jack Nicklaus)	−25 (61-67-64-67=259)	3 strokes	Bruce Crampton &  Orville Moody,  Gardner Dickinson &  Sam Snead,  George Archer &  Bobby Nichols
  58	Feb 14, 1971	Bob Hope Desert Classic	−18 (67-71-66-68-70=342)	Playoff	Raymond Floyd
  59	Mar 14, 1971	Florida Citrus Invitational	−18 (66-68-68-68=270)	1 stroke	Julius Boros
  60	Jul 25, 1971	Westchester Classic	−18 (64-70-68-68=270)	5 strokes	Gibby Gilbert,  Hale Irwin
  61	Aug 1, 1971	National Team Championship (with  Jack Nicklaus)	−27 (62-64-65-66=257)	6 strokes	Julius Boros &  Bill Collins,  Bob Charles &  Bruce Devlin
  62	Feb 11, 1973	Bob Hope Desert Classic	−17 (71-66-69-68-69=343)	2 strokes	Jack Nicklaus,  Johnny Miller

  PGA Tour playoff record (14–10)

  No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
  1	1956	Insurance City Open	Ted Kroll	Won with birdie on second extra hole
  2	1957	Rubber City Open Invitational	Doug Ford	Won with birdie on sixth extra hole
  3	1958	Azalea Open	Howie Johnson	Lost 18-hole playoff (Johnson:77, Palmer:78)
  4	1959	West Palm Beach Open	Gay Brewer,  Pete Cooper	Won with par on fourth extra hole
  5	1960	Houston Classic	Bill Collins	Lost 18-hole playoff (Collins:69, Palmer:71)
  6	1960	Insurance City Open	Bill Collins,  Jack Fleck	Palmer won with birdie on third extra hole Collins eliminated with birdie on first hole
  7	1961	San Diego Open Invitational	Al Balding	Won with birdie on first extra hole
  8	1961	Phoenix Open Invitational	Doug Sanders	Won 18-hole playoff (Palmer:67 Sanders: 70)
  9	1961	500 Festival Open Invitation	Doug Ford	Lost to birdie on second extra hole
  10	1962	Masters Tournament	Dow Finsterwald,  Gary Player	Won 18-hole playoff (Palmer:68, Player:71, Finsterwald:77)
  11	1962	Colonial National Invitation	Johnny Pott	Won 18-hole playoff (Palmer:69, Pott:73)
  12	1962	U.S. Open	Jack Nicklaus	Lost 18-hole playoff (Nicklaus:71, Palmer:74)
  13	1963	Thunderbird Classic	Paul Harney	Won with par on first extra hole
  14	1963	U.S. Open	Julius Boros, Jacky Cupit	Lost 18-hole playoff (Boros:70, Cupit:73, Palmer:76)
  15	1963	Cleveland Open	Tommy Aaron,  Tony Lema	Won 18-hole playoff (Palmer:67, Aaron:70, Lema:70)
  16	1963	Western Open	Julius Boros, Jack Nicklaus	Won 18-hole playoff (Palmer:70, Boros:71, Nicklaus:73)
  17	1964	Cleveland Open	Tony Lema	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
  18	1964	Pensacola Open	Miller Barber,  Gary Player	Lost 18-hole playoff (Player:71, Palmer:72, Barber:74)
  19	1966	Bob Hope Desert Classic	Doug Sanders	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
  20	1966	Tournament of Champions	Gay Brewer	Won 18-hole playoff (Palmer:69, Brewer:73)
  21	1966	U.S. Open	Billy Casper	Lost 18-hole playoff (Casper:69, Palmer:73)
  22	1968	Bob Hope Desert Classic	Deane Beman	Won with par on second extra hole
  23	1970	Byron Nelson Golf Classic	Jack Nicklaus	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
  24	1971	Bob Hope Desert Classic	Raymond Floyd	Won with birdie on second extra hole

  Source:^[26]

  Other wins (18)[edit]

  • 1956 Panama Open, Colombian Open
  • 1958 Long Island Open
  • 1960 Canada Cup (with Sam Snead)
  • 1962 Canada Cup (with Sam Snead)
  • 1963 Australian Wills Masters Tournament, Canada Cup (with Jack Nicklaus)
  • 1964 Piccadilly World Match Play Championship (England, but not a European Tour event at that time), Canada Cup (with Jack Nicklaus)
  • 1966 Australian Open, Canada Cup (with Jack Nicklaus), PGA Team Championship (with Jack Nicklaus)
  • 1967 Piccadilly World Match Play Championship (England, but not a European Tour event at that time), World Cup (with Jack Nicklaus)
  • 1971 Lancome Trophy (France, but not a European Tour event at that time)
  • 1975 Spanish Open (European Tour), Penfold PGA Championship (European Tour)
  • 1980 Canadian PGA Championship

  Senior PGA Tour wins (10)[edit]

  No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
  1	Dec 7, 1980	PGA Seniors Championship	+1 (72-69-73-75=289)	Playoff	Paul Harney
  2	Jul 12, 1981	U.S. Senior Open	+9 (72-76-68-73=289)	Playoff	Billy Casper,  Bob Stone
  3	Jun 13, 1982	Marlboro Classic	−8 (68-70-69-69=276)	4 strokes	Billy Casper,  Bob Rosburg
  4	Aug 15, 1982	Denver Post Champions of Golf	−5 (68-67-73-67=275)	1 stroke	Bob Goalby
  5	Dec 4, 1983	Boca Grove Seniors Classic	−17 (65-69-70-67=271)	3 strokes	Billy Casper
  6	Jan 22, 1984	General Foods PGA Seniors' Championship	−12 (66-66-72=204)	2 strokes	Don January
  7	Jun 24, 1984	Senior Tournament Players Championship	−6 (69-63-79-71=282)	3 strokes	Peter Thomson
  8	Dec 2, 1984	Quadel Seniors Classic	−11 (67-71-67=205)	1 stroke	Lee Elder,  Orville Moody
  9	Jun 23, 1985	Senior Tournament Players Championship	−14 (67-71-68-68=274)	11 strokes	Miller Barber,  Lee Elder,  Gene Littler,  Charles Owens
  10	Sep 18, 1988	Crestar Classic	−13 (65-68-70=203)	4 strokes	Lee Elder,  Jim Ferree,  Larry Mowry

  Senior PGA Tour playoff record (2–1)

  No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
  1	1980	PGA Seniors' Championship	Paul Harney	Won with birdie on first extra hole
  2	1981	U.S. Senior Open	Billy Casper,  Bob Stone	Won 18-hole playoff (Palmer:70, Stone:74, Casper:77)
  3	1984	Daytona Beach Seniors Golf Classic	Orville Moody,  Dan Sikes	Moody won with birdie on second extra hole

  Senior majors are shown in bold.

  Other senior wins (5)[edit]

  • 1984 Doug Sanders Celebrity Pro-Am
  • 1986 Union Mutual Classic
  • 1990 Senior Skins Game
  • 1992 Senior Skins Game
  • 1993 Senior Skins Game

  Major championships[edit]

  Wins (7)[edit]

  Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
  1958	Masters Tournament	Tied for lead	−4 (70-73-68-73=284)	1 stroke	Doug Ford,  Fred Hawkins
  1960	Masters Tournament (2)	1 shot lead	−6 (67-73-72-70=282)	1 stroke	Ken Venturi
  1960	U.S. Open	7 shot deficit	−4 (72-71-72-65=280)	2 strokes	Jack Nicklaus
  1961	The Open Championship	1 shot lead	−4 (70-73-69-72=284)	1 stroke	Dai Rees
  1962	Masters Tournament (3)	2 shot lead	−8 (70-66-69-75=280)	Playoff 1	Gary Player,  Dow Finsterwald
  1962	The Open Championship (2)	5 shot lead	−12 (71-69-67-69=276)	6 strokes	Kel Nagle
  1964	Masters Tournament (4)	5 shot lead	−12 (69-68-69-70=276)	6 strokes	Dave Marr,  Jack Nicklaus

  ¹ Defeated Gary Player & Dow Finsterwald in 18-hole playoff – Palmer 68 (−4), Player 71 (−1), Finsterwald 77 (+5)

  Results timeline[edit]

  Tournament	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959
  Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	T10	21	T7	1	3
  U.S. Open	CUT	CUT	T21	7	CUT	T23	T5
  The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
  PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T40	T14

  Tournament	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
  Masters Tournament	1	T2	1	T9	1	T2	T4	4	CUT	27
  U.S. Open	1	T14	2	T2	T5	CUT	2	2	59	T6
  The Open Championship	2	1	1	T26	DNP	16	T8	DNP	T10	DNP
  PGA Championship	T7	T5	T17	T40	T2	T33	T6	T14	T2	WD

  Tournament	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
  Masters Tournament	T36	T18	T33	T24	T11	T13	CUT	T24	T37	CUT
  U.S. Open	T54	T24	3	T4	T5	T9	T50	T19	CUT	T59
  The Open Championship	12	DNP	T7	T14	DNP	T16	T55	7	T34	DNP
  PGA Championship	T2	T18	T16	CUT	T28	T33	T15	T19	CUT	CUT

  Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
  Masters Tournament	T24	CUT	47	T36	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT
  U.S. Open	63	CUT	CUT	T60	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
  The Open Championship	CUT	T23	T27	T56	CUT	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	CUT
  PGA Championship	T72	76	CUT	T67	CUT	T65	CUT	T65	CUT	T63

  Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
  Masters Tournament	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT
  U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
  The Open Championship	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
  PGA Championship	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

  Tournament	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
  Masters Tournament	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT
  U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
  The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
  PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

  DNP = Did not play
  WD = Withdrew
  CUT = missed the half-way cut
  "T" indicates a tie for a place
  Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

  Summary[edit]

  Tournament	Wins	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
  Masters Tournament	4	2	1	9	12	19	50	25
  U.S. Open	1	4	1	10	13	18	33	24
  The Open Championship	2	1	0	3	7	12	23	17
  PGA Championship	0	3	0	4	6	13	37	24
  Totals	7	10	2	26	38	62	143	90

  • Most consecutive cuts made – 26 (1958 Masters – 1965 Masters)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 6 (1966 Masters – 1967 U.S. Open)

  Champions Tour major championships[edit]

  Wins (5)[edit]

  Year	Championship	Winning score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
  1980	PGA Seniors' Championship	+1 (72-69-73-75=289)	Playoff1	Paul Harney
  1981	U.S. Senior Open	+9 (72-76-68-73=289)	Playoff2	Billy Casper,  Bob Stone
  1984a	General Foods PGA Seniors' Championship (2)	−6 (69-63-79-71=282)	2 strokes	Don January
  1984	Senior Players Championship	−12 (72-68-67-69=276)	3 strokes	Peter Thomson
  1985	Senior Players Championship (2)	−14 (67-71-68-68=274)	11 strokes	Miller Barber,  Lee Elder,  Gene Littler,  Charles Owens

  ^a This was the January edition of the tournament.
  ¹ Palmer won this with a birdie on the first playoff hole.
  ² Won in an 18-hole playoff, Palmer shot a (70) to Stone's (74) and Casper's (77).

  U.S. national team appearances[edit]

  Professional
  • Ryder Cup: 1961 (winners), 1963 (winners, playing captain), 1965 (winners), 1967 (winners), 1971 (winners), 1973 (winners), 1975 (winners, non-playing captain)
  • World Cup: 1960 (winners), 1962 (winners), 1963 (winners), 1964 (winners), 1966 (winners), 1967 (winners, individual winner)

  See also[edit]

  	Biography portal
  	Golf portal

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